Best 3.5mm Microphone for Your Socket, TRS or TRRS

A clip-on microphone with a TRRS plug is the simple buy for a phone or a laptop: the Sennheiser XS Lav Mobile at about $55, or the Boya BY-M1 at about $33 if you want six metres of cable. On a camera, the Rode VideoMicro II at about $89 has both kinds of cable in the box, so it works with a phone as well.

Phones have been losing the headphone socket, so check the plug and the socket before anything else.

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TRS or TRRS

Two 3.5mm plugs look almost alike and are wired differently. Rode’s guide to 3.5mm microphones puts it this way: TRS has two rings on the plug and is the connector on cameras and audio recorders. TRRS has three rings and is the connector on computers and mobile devices, where it carries the headphone output and the microphone input in one socket. A camera’s microphone input takes a microphone only. Sennheiser draws the same line on its MKE 200 page: TRS for DSLR and mirrorless cameras, TRRS for mobile devices.

The fix for a mismatch is a short adapter. Rode sells the SC4, which takes a TRS microphone into a TRRS socket, and the SC3, which goes the other way, at about $19 each. On Rode’s own cables a grey connector is TRRS and a black one is TRS.

When a 3.5mm microphone is not detected

Rode says a mismatch between TRS and TRRS is the usual cause of a microphone that does not work. It also says you may have to select the microphone as the input in your sound settings. And it adds a warning that applies to every maker: some phones and computers do not recognise an outside microphone even when the plug is right, and there is no clear rule for which.

Phones with no headphone socket

None of these plugs in directly. Google’s help pages say the only Pixel phones with a 3.5mm socket are the Pixel 3a, 4a and 4a (5G). Apple’s USB-C adapter page lists every iPhone from the iPhone 15 onwards, and Samsung has a support page for Galaxy phones without an earphone socket.

The neatest answer is a microphone that is USB-C to begin with, because it needs no adapter. Sennheiser sells the XS Lav USB-C for about $69, and the Rode VideoMic GO II below has a USB-C output beside its 3.5mm one.

The cheaper route is a USB-C or Lightning adapter. Boya sells two for microphones at about $20 each: the BY-K9, USB-C to a 3.5mm TRRS socket, and the BY-K3 for Lightning iPhones up to the iPhone 14. A Boya BY-M1 with a BY-K9 comes to about $53 for the two. Rode says to use a Lightning adapter with its smartLav+ on newer iPhones. Apple’s own USB-C to 3.5mm adapter is $9, but Apple describes it for headphones and speakers and does not mention microphones.

A small USB interface is the third way. The Rode AI-Micro, about $89, has two 3.5mm inputs that detect TRS or TRRS by themselves, and it comes with USB-C, USB-A and Lightning cables. Rode calls it the foolproof route.

Clip-on microphones for a phone or laptop

All three here are lavaliers with a TRRS plug, doing the same job, and the Sennheiser has the longest cable for the least money. That is our pick unless you already own Rode cables. Whatever you record on an Android phone can then be trimmed in an audio editor for Android.

The Sennheiser XS Lav Mobile, about $55, has a 2 m cable. Sennheiser says the phone or computer powers it and switches over from the built-in microphone by itself. It also says the plug turns off the device’s own audio output, so for video calls it points you to the USB-C version. Sennheiser’s US store showed the Mobile version as out of stock, so you may need a dealer. Sennheiser XS Lav Mobile on Amazon

The Shure MVL, about $76, has a 52-inch cable, about 1.3 m, and is powered by the device. Shure says it works with most Android and iOS devices that have a TRRS socket, or through a CTIA-compliant adapter. Shure MVL on Amazon

The Rode smartLav+, about $89, has a 1.2 m cable and is powered from the phone’s socket. For a camera, a recorder or Rode’s Wireless GO transmitter, Rode says it needs the SC3 adapter. Rode smartLav+ on Amazon

Clip-on microphones for a camera

When you are standing back from the camera, get the Boya BY-M1, about $33, for the 6 m cable and the price. A switch on the battery pack sets it for a phone or a camera. Boya says phone mode needs no battery and camera mode runs on the LR44 cell in the box. Boya gives the plug only as 3.5mm, and the adapters it sells for this microphone are TRRS. Boya’s store also lists a BY-M1S, about $36, which needs no battery in either mode. Boya BY-M1 on Amazon

The Rode Lavalier GO, about $89, has a TRS plug and runs on plug-in power. Rode built it for the Wireless GO transmitters and says it suits most recording devices with a TRS microphone input. Rode’s cable guide says a TRS microphone needs the SC4 adapter for a phone or laptop. Its page does not give the cable length. Rode Lavalier GO on Amazon

Microphones that sit on the camera

These sit in the camera’s shoe mount and point where the lens points. Three of the five are listed for phones as well as cameras as they come.

The Rode VideoMicro II, about $89, works on a camera some days and a phone on others. Rode’s datasheet lists two cables in the box: the SC13, TRS to TRS for cameras, and the SC7, TRS to TRRS for phones. It needs no battery and weighs 39 grams with its mount. Rode VideoMicro II on Amazon

The Boya BY-MM1, about $37, is the cheapest here. Boya lists the plug as 3.5mm TRS and TRRS, a cardioid pattern and no battery. Boya BY-MM1 on Amazon

The Rode VideoMic GO II, about $99, has a TRS output for cameras and a USB-C output for phones and computers. Rode says a phone’s 3.5mm socket needs the SC7 cable, sold separately. Over USB it needs a Rode SC16 or SC17 cable for USB-C devices, or an SC15 or SC19 for Lightning, and Rode warns that a standard USB-C to Lightning cable will not work. Rode VideoMic GO II on Amazon

The Sennheiser MKE 200, about $100, comes with a TRS cable and a TRRS cable, both coiled and locking, and Sennheiser says it runs without a battery. Sennheiser MKE 200 on Amazon

The Rode VideoMic, about $159, is the only on-camera microphone here with its own power, a 9V battery, so it suits a camera that supplies no plug-in power. The Boya BY-M1 with its battery in does the same among clip-ons. The plug is TRS. It also has a high-pass filter and a two-stage level control. Rode VideoMic on Amazon

All ten by plug, pattern and power

Prices are the makers’ own US prices, rounded. Lavalier means a small clip-on microphone.

An omnidirectional microphone picks up sound from every side, which Rode says makes a clip-on forgiving about where you place it. Cardioid and supercardioid microphones favour what they are pointed at. Rode describes the supercardioid pattern as highly directional.

Plug-in power is a small voltage the camera or recorder sends up the microphone cable. A microphone marked “no battery” needs it, and Rode notes that a few cameras do not supply it. On one of those, buy a microphone with its own battery.